A new women’s grass-court tennis tournament will be held on the Spanish island of Mallorca starting in 2016, the WTA has announced.
The 32-player event will take place on the home island of men’s world number one Rafael Nadal two weeks before Wimbledon, at the same time as the Birmingham tournament.
“With the grass court season set to expand next year, it was important for the WTA to provide players and fans alike with a fresh opportunity to experience the expanded grass court tennis season,” WTA Chair and CEO Stacey Allaster said.
The tournament will be played in the second week of a three-week grass-court window between the claycourt French Open and Wimbledon.
The venue will feature five permanent natural grass courts, including a retail development and tennis academy.
Construction and maintenance of the courts will be done in collaboration with The All England Lawn Tennis Club.